Those of you that have 8bitdo branded controllers: Have you had any issues with the d-pads?

I've seen several YouTube videos from people, for instance the guys at My Life in Gaming, stating that the PCB's need to be modified (partially covered with tape) in order to prevent unwanted diagonals.

You can find video demonstrations of this with people holding right and having Mario or whatever duck unintentionally.

Bummer, I'm playing with the long multitap on an original Snes with SD2Snes.

Even just a single receiver won't work in position 3 or 4?

Thanks so much for checking

Yeah, single doesn't work. Hmm, I'm using the long multitap with a SuperNT, but I'm going to dig out my original SNES and test it as well. I wonder if it's actually the SuperNT not giving out enough juice on controller lines to support the Multitap...

That's cool to know that the SuperNT at least works with the multitap with wired controllers. Does a single receiver work in any port on the multitap with the SuperNT, or at least player 2 in 2 player mode?

I ordered a second SNES retro receiver from Amazon. It should get here Wednesday and I'll report whether or not it works with the multitap. If it does, I think I'll be ordering some more DIY kits soon.

Does a single receiver work in any port on the multitap with the SuperNT, or at least player 2 in 2 player mode?

The receivers seem to only work in the 2P slot, in either multiplayer switch setting on the multitap. P3, P4 and P5 doesn't work. The receivers just rapidly flash white when it's powered up, and won't go into paring mode (regular blue flashing LED).

I've got an original SNES and SNES jr that will host my next test. Stay tuned

Gonna dig into my storage in the next couple days to test it out. I can barely get anything done during the week with my schedule around this time of year, but I'll update you guys on my findings sometime later this week.

Well, my plan to have a unified way to play emulated games with a variety of controllers has suffered a setback. Retroarch, at least, sees each Retro Receiver as it's own numbered entity, based upon the order that they were plugged in, which will undoubtedly randomize with every reboot of the PC.

I was really hoping that Xbox 360 controller #1 would always be seen as such in a generic way by Windows.

My dream was to have all the controllers attached via usb as 360 controllers. That way, whatever controller I activated first would be seen as controller #1 by the emulator/Retroarch and Windows. Then, it would be a snap to use any controller with any system, as they would all have the same mapping. Has anyone dealt with this problem before and maybe found a better solution?

Based on everything posted here I was pretty fired up and bought 2 NES and SNES controllers and as everyone has stated they work awesome, especially on a CRT ;-).

I was also troubled buy the Windows device ID issue but stumbled upon this:

I might order one or two more SNES kits and one more NES kit. Right now I'm waiting for my Retrotink 2x to ship and planning to install several floating shelves to hold my consoles w/flashcarts. The wireless options are perfect, but I still haven't decided how to handle N64's pathetic 7 ft. cord or whether I want to try a wireless 3rd party Genesis controller.

Nope. Doesn't work on my original SNES Jr console. Same results. I've tried connecting just one receiver to ports 3, 4 or 5th and I still can't get it to work. So something is going on with how the multitap handles those ports, perhaps less voltage output? I'm not sure.

@KenToad when you get your set, let us know if your multitap works with all 4 retro receivers. I'd actually be happy if it does, then I'd know it's my multitap not functioning properly.

I wonder how similar your 8bitdo controllers are to the DIY kits I'm using? I was able to hook up a WiiU pro controller to ports 3-5, though, so I doubt that is the issue.

Isn't the SNES Jr. different in several ways from the original model SNES that I'm using? Maybe just video output? I don't remember.

Thanks so much for checking and for posting that video. My DHL delivery is supposed to happen Thursday. Maybe I'll be able to assemble and test before the weekend.

I've been looking into the new wireless genesis controllers from 8bitdo. They are 2.4g rather than bluetooth. I tend to avoid 3rd party controllers, but they look decent quality and are a pretty good deal at $24 each shipped from Amazon. And they include the receivers. I ordered a pair of extension cords, but the wires are just irritating by now. Guess I'm getting spoiled.

It's all over YouTube that 8bitdo controllers notoriously have bad d-pads. Diagonals are far too easy to hit because the contacts on the pcb's are too large. People make them smaller with bits of tape and stickers. That hasn't been a problem at all with the DIY kits. Have you noticed any issues with accidentally hitting diagonals with your SN30 pads?

It's all over YouTube that 8bitdo controllers notoriously have bad d-pads. Diagonals are far too easy to hit because the contacts on the pcb's are too large. People make them smaller with bits of tape and stickers. That hasn't been a problem at all with the DIY kits. Have you noticed any issues with accidentally hitting diagonals with your SN30 pads?

All of them have great d-pads, after a bit of breaking-in. 100% playable in Contra 3, SF2T, platformers. You name it. Iím very fickle with d-pad quality, and these have not disappointed me.

The d-pad complaints are either vastly exaggerated, or perhaps the quality of the later batches have went down. Iím really wondering if the later batches had quality issues. Mine are from the initial opening sales, first batch.

That's great to hear that the 8bitdo controllers have worked well. YouTuber's can be oddly finicky. Look up videos comparing 1 vs. 2 chip SNES's for example.

What do you guys think about 2.4g wireless vs. Bluetooth? That's what the 8bitdo genesis controllers are using and what the upcoming wireless N64 controllers will use. Didn't the old Wavebirds also use 2.4g?

I dunno about the 8bitdo 2.4g controllers, but if it's different than the bluetooth, I'd be interested in hearing why. Though it wouldn't matter in the long run since I already committed to the BT version.

So it works with wired controllers, but not the retro receivers in ports 3-5? It still seems worth investigating hooking it up to an original SNES, rather than the Jr. version, if you haven't already done that.

To be fair, I'm going to have the 3rd and 4th SNES controllers hooked up to the PC for emulators 99% of the time.

I was playing Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers 2 with my son yesterday and had my first issues with the NES bluetooth pads running through the 4 score in 2 player mode. Sometimes my character wouldn't stop moving after I stopped pressing a direction. Some inputs were delayed. My son didn't seem to have any issues. I haven't had any issues running only one retro receiver through any port in the 4 score.

I moved the retro receivers to the standard controller ports and that seems to have resolved it.

Thanks for the upload. I've forwarded it and asked them to test on an OG SNES.

I still haven't gone into my storage for my OG. I guess I'll have to do that soonish. It just sucks because I sealed it in plastic because it CIB and I mainly use the SNES Jr or SuperNT (yeah, I caved and bought one of those Anal-logue devices).

The Super NT looks pretty amazing. I will admit that I haven't bought any 3rd party hardware, except these DIY kits, because I'm happy with emulators. It's mainly the novelty of using the original consoles that led me to find a decent solution for hooking them up.

When the retro receivers are plugged into the PC, they are always seen as being on, no matter whether your controller is currently powered on or not. What this means is that you cannot reorder your Xinput controllers by turning them on and off. The receivers must be physically unplugged from the usb connections. That basically breaks PC functionality for me. I don't want to have to unplug a retro receiver to use a different xinput controller when I'm playing a steam game, for example.

The Wireless xinput dongle I got from Microsoft supports 4 Xbox controllers and you can change the order at any time by simply turning the controllers off and then on again in the desired order. I also don't want to have to use extra drivers or software to make a fixed order for these retro receivers. I guess it was too much to ask that 8bitdo would design their products with optimal flexibility for PC usage, since that seems to be an afterthought anyway. I suppose that I could ask their support staff if they could possibly update the firmware, but for now I've gone back to using my Microsoft connector and Mayflash PS3 controller connector, both of which have been excellent.

I went ahead and preordered one of the new Genesis / Mega Drive retro receivers through Amazon.

I also ordered a Sega Teamplayer, Sega's multitap, new in box from Amazon Prime for $20. Even though they had a picture of the box and listed it as new, I really didn't expect it to be shrinkwrapped and have all the documentation, stickers, etc.

After smelling the 1994 air, I tested it out and found that it works, but its usage is incredibly convoluted. Rather than being a simple 2p-4p or 5p binary switch like the NES and SNES multitaps, you have a 6 position switch labeled Extra, A, B, C, D, and Multi. It also has two short wires instead of one, labelled as Controller 1 and Controller 2. The crazy thing is that you can't plug both wires in when you have a game that's compatible with the Teamplayer. You only plug both wires in if it's a multiplayer game that doesn't have teamplayer compatibility. And then you use the extra setting instead of multi. You use multi mode when you have a teamplayer compatible game, but you plug the controller 1 wire into port 1 if you have up to four players and leave the other wire hanging, but you have to move the same wire over to port 2 if you have up to 5 players and then plug player 1's controller into port 1. The instructions don't say, but I'm assuming that ABCD switches are for choosing what controller to play as 1st player in single player only games. That's just a guess, though (I'll look it up eventually).

Between this and the 32X released that year, just further proof that, by 1994, Sega had completely lost their minds.

I'll test the retro receiver with the Teamplayer when I get the receiver, hopefully later this month.

*Edit* I looked it up. Apparently, EA is the reason for the complexity, as they made their own multitap adapter called the 4 Way Play, which sounds sexual, and refused to support Sega's peripheral (which initially was more simple and didn't have twin wires to connect to the console). I was also correct about the ABCD switch being for choosing which controller would be used as 1st player, so that you could have other controllers or peripherals, such as the mega mouse, plugged in and switch between them on a per game basis, although that still doesn't seem all that practical.

*Sigh* This will all be worth it if I can get a gang together to play some NHL '94.

When the retro receivers are plugged into the PC, they are always seen as being on, no matter whether your controller is currently powered on or not. What this means is that you cannot reorder your Xinput controllers by turning them on and off. The receivers must be physically unplugged from the usb connections. That basically breaks PC functionality for me. I don't want to have to unplug a retro receiver to use a different xinput controller when I'm playing a steam game, for example.

I also don't want to have to use extra drivers or software to make a fixed order for these retro receivers. I guess it was too much to ask that 8bitdo would design their products with optimal flexibility for PC usage, since that seems to be an afterthought anyway.

Did you try the link that I posted to the software that maintains the device ID order? Works really well for me, you can place it in the subfolder of any emulator so that it works across multiple formats.

Does it work for steam games? I'm also just not sure I want a fixed order for controllers.

Itís worked on every program so far. Why wouldnít you want a fixed order for controllers?

I don't want a fixed order because it's inconvenient, basically. Right now I have a Microsoft wireless dongle that supports 4 Xbox 360 controllers and a Mayflash PS3 dongle that supports 4 PS3 controllers through Directinput. In both cases, whatever controller I power up first becomes 1st player and displays its order via LED on the controller.

If I do a system-wide fixed controller order, then I might have to label my controllers or change the order for specific games. If I do a program specific fixed order, then it's similar hassles and the work of setting up a bunch of configurations.

I still appreciate the link and I might eventually set it up for Retroarch, but for now just plugging in a retro receiver when I want to use a specific retro controller for a steam game or something seems like the best option.

I tested the MegaDrive Retro Receiver with Gauntlet IV and NHL '94 with my Bluetooth modded US 6 button controller Mk-1653 and 3 wired controllers plugged into the Team Player and so far it worked perfectly. The everdrive only seems to recognize inputs when the Team Player is set to "Extra," though. It worked for me to switch to "Multi" after the game booted.

I got a reply from 8bitdo advising me to update the firmware to version 6.10 and reset the controller by holding the start button down for 8 seconds. I did both of those things and of course they didn't fix the problem. However, the firmware update notes mention that they "Fixed input lag with more than 3 players problem." Of course, you can't update the firmware without opening up the Nintendo controllers to access the mini usb ports on the modkits and it seems like I probably should update them all, so it's a bit irritating that they didn't solve this issue before releasing the products.

I'm out of the 30 day return window, but it hasn't even been two months. We'll see what they say, but at least the process is reversible, right?

Hopefully they will send you a new kit if they canít fix it with software. Aside from the battery dying, the kit should last for a very long time. Speaking of the battery, you have done a full charge right? These Bluetooth controllers do some funky stuff when the charge is low.

Yeah, the first thing I did was to charge it up, but I wasn't aware that bluetooth controllers are known for issues when the charge is low. I'll definitely keep it in mind if I run into trouble in the future. Thanks.